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West Coast ports lost market share. Will they get it back?

May 8, 2023
Stung by supply chain breakdowns and worried about labor unrest, many shippers have rerouted goods to the Gulf of Mexico and East Coast.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Port of LA campaigns to bring back shippers lost amid labor talks

Jan 11, 2023
Executive Director Gene Seroka says traffic has slowed in part because of labor talks between dockworkers and their employers.
Containers, ships and cranes at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Longshore union members are negotiating a new contract with their employers.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Supply chain snarls finally show signs of easing

Oct 18, 2022
A combination of slowing demand and better management means ports aren't as backed up as they used to be.
Congested ports and exorbitant shipping prices are beginning to cool from pandemic highs.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

How's the container ship backlog at Southern California's ports?

Sep 29, 2022
There are fewer than 10 ships waiting for a berth. “There still are issues, but it’s much better,” a Marine Exchange executive says.
Kip Louttit, right, of the Marine Exchange of Southern California, shows Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal congestion data at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach while looking at horizon free of container ships.
Maria Hollenhorst/Marketplace

China's lockdowns haven't greatly affected maritime shipping

May 19, 2022
"What we've seen is consistent cargo flow," says Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.
Shipping hasn't slowed at the Port of Los Angeles, according to executive director Gene Seroka.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Using “queuing theory” to understand supply chain logjams

Nov 16, 2021
"We can use some fancy math to predict how long the line will get," Keely Croxton of Ohio State says, then apply it to related problems.
According to logistics expert Keely Croxton, the mathematical formulas that explain wait times at an ATM can be applied to global supply chains.
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

LA's port problems have retailers worrying about empty shelves for the holidays

Nov 9, 2021
Retailers and manufacturers are anxious about holiday shopping as they monitor supplies on delayed cargo ships.
Lots of space on the shelves in the toy department of a Houston Target store.
Brandon Bell via Getty Images

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Will round-the-clock work at Port of LA free up the supply chain?

Oct 15, 2021
It will help, but there are other jobs beyond the port that need to ramp up too.
Shipping containers are stacked at the Port of Los Angeles, the nation's busiest container port, on Nov. 7, 2019 in San Pedro, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Floating traffic jam at California ports sets record

Sep 17, 2021
Hundreds of thousands of freight containers wait to be offloaded at ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Container ships and tankers were anchored near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in February. Currently, more than 60 ships are waiting to enter the two facilities.
Mario Tama via Getty Images

L.A.'s latest traffic jam: Dozens of container ships waiting to be unloaded

Mar 8, 2021
The longer there's a backlog, the more risk it poses to the recovering economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant more people shopping online and fewer people able to work in shipping safely, resulting in today's backlogs.
Mario Tama/Getty Images